Saturday, December 1, 2012

Out recently investigating the route of a WWII escape route that I read about in 'La Résistance Audoise' that my father in law lent me.

Ernest Zaugg was in charge of a resistance group - the Maquis de Roc Blanc which was named after the peak that overlooks Lake Laurenti. The picture at the top of this blog is of Lake Laurenti and Roc Blanc. Their escape route began at Rouze in France and ended in Soldeu in Andorra.

Tha part of the route I walked began at the Forestry Refuge where there is a commerative plaque.

'In honour of the French and Allied officers who crossed the Pyrenees on the paths to freedom with the help of the Donezan couriers and the Roc Blanc resistance fighters'

The route then climbs up to the beautiful Lake Laurenti and rather than turn away towards Roc Blanc, carries on up the Laurenti Valley. From the lake onwards the trail is not marked on the map. The weather was overcast and cold and at the head of the valley there was snow which slowed my progress. From the col I followed the trail down to the head of the Galbe Valley and then back up again to the Col de Terrers - the second col of the day. Descending from the col I could make out the faint line of the trail into the distance towards the D'en Beys Refuge, which was the traditional mid way halt.

I had reached my turn around time but decided to climb Pic de Terrers above the col which, from previous visits, I knew offered great views. I wasn't disappointed.

Looking South from Pic de Terrers

Looking North from Pic Terrers

It was very windy on the summit but the sunlight broke through the clouds for the first time that day for just 15 minutes or so, illuminating the ridge line I had crossed and the way I had come. The south facing slopes were without snow but in the other direction, the north facing slopes still held snow.

Two things during the day reinforced how hard the WWII crossings were. The autumn snow around me and the fact that the last hour and a half of the return route from Lake Laurenti back to my car, was finished in the dark because I had not stuck to my turn around time. The couriers and the escapees would have made the WWII crossings in winter and in the dark. Neither would they have been properly equiped like I was with my modern clothing and boots.

“The
desire for freedom resides in every human heart. And that desire cannot
be contained forever by prison walls, or martial laws, or secret
police. Over time, and across the Earth, freedom will find a way.”George W. Bush

Welcome!

Pyrenees Mountain Adventure offers summer trekking and winter snowshoeing adventures in the Eastern Pyrenees (France and Andorra). We specialise in hut to hut treks along World War II underground escape and evasion lines from France into Spain across the Pyrenees.

This blog will provide regular posts about where I have been in the Pyrenees and what I have been up to. I will also share my thoughts on wilderness, its importance and why it needs to be protected. I will also post about other interests of mine including World War II escape routes over the Pyrenees.